Model-Based Diagnosis under Real-World Constraints

Adnan Darwiche

Abstract

I report on my experience over the past few years in introducing automated, model-based diagnostic technologies into industrial settings. In partic-ular, I discuss the competition that this technology has been receiving from handcrafted, rule-based diagnostic systems that has set some high standards that must be met by model-based systems before they can be viewed as viable alternatives. The battle between model-based and rule-based approaches to diagnosis has been over in the academic literature for many years, but the situation is different in industry where rule-based systems are dominant and appear to be attractive given the considerations of efficiency, embeddability, and cost effectiveness. My goal in this article is to provide a perspective on this competition and discuss a diagnostic tool, called DTOOL/CNETS, that I have been developing over the years as I tried to address the major challenges posed by rule-based systems. In particular, I discuss three major features of the developed tool that were either adopted, designed, or innovated to address these challenges: (1) its compositional modeling approach, (2) its structure-based computational approach, and (3) its ability to synthesize embeddable diagnostic systems for a variety of software and hardware platforms.